NEPL/NDWestern OML34 JV Grants Scholarship to 150 Indigent Varsity Students

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

About 150 indigent university students are set to enjoy the scholarship granted them by the Nigeria Exploration Production Limited/NDWestern Asset Management Team (AMT),  OML 34 Joint Venture (JV) located in the Niger Delta.

This is coming after 280 students took part in the university scholarship aptitude test organised on Saturday, April 26, 2025 in Warri, Delta state.

The aptitude test which took place at the College of Education was supervised by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), is part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) aimed at selecting qualified students across its 35 host communities.

Addressing newsmen on the exercise, NEPL/NDWestern JV’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Oghenekaro Ovraiti, said that WAEC was engaged to conduct the scholarship examination to ensure transparency, credibility of the exercise and to assure the communities of fairness.

Ovraiti, who was represented by the company’s Community’s Liaison Officer, Mr. James Ekeanyanwu, disclosed that the students who sat for the examination were selected from their host communities based on oil production and pipeline bearing quota and to promote education and learning among its host communities.

“We sent messages to our host communities and based on the facilities in the area, we selected the students, say three, four students in some communities. We gave the community chairmen the free hand to select the students, so ours is to conduct the examination.

“WAEC is doing the conduct of the examination, our is just the administrative work. It is WAEC that will release the results so there will be no issues of manipulation. We think WAEC is more established to conduct the examination,” the COO said.

He said that the exercise was a backlog of 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 editions that were postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Ekeanyanwu said that the scholarship examination results would be out within one month of the examination, expressing optimism that WAEC would be diligent and transparent in coming out with the overall beneficiaries of the scholarship.

He said that the scholarship examination had been an annual event of NEPL/NDWestern Asset Management Team (AMT) JV, but was disrupted by COVID-19 which led to the postponement.

Ekeanyanwu, however, enjoined the students  to be hardworking and take their academic pursuits seriously, saying that the scholarship was designed to help students and their parents overcome economic challenges.

The NEPL/NDWestern OML34 JV has  been involved in community development projects across its 35 host communities in Delta state,  making it enjoy peaceful operations in the area.